BATON ROUGE - All-American Durand "Rudy Macklin and LSU men's basketball head coach Johnny Jones traded stories about their playing days and gave their feelings of LSU's big SEC-BIG EAST Challenge win against Seton Hall at December's "Tipoff Luncheon With Coach Johnny Jones presented by HUB International."

The event was held at the L'Auberge Resort. The January edition will be held on Jan. 15.

On Jones the freshman player, whom he played with when Macklin was a senior in 1981, the school's all-time leading rebounder said, "He did everything fast. He had a fast car. He ran fast. He walked fast. He dribbled fast."

Macklin also saluted what he has seen of the LSU program under Jones. "We have another phase of LSU basketball starting under one of our own. I see another growth spurt coming with Johnny Jones. The Seton Hall reminded me of the past. The full-court press versus Seton Hall is what we ran back in our day. I don't think the Seton Hall coach saw it coming."

When Jones spoke afterward he said ... "how special it is to have Rudy Macklin here today. He's always been special to me since my freshman year in college. College athletics is all about coming in and developing relationships. Rudy is like a brother to me. "

Macklin and Jones played together on the 1981 team that went 17-1 in the Southeastern Conference and advanced to the NCAA Final Four before losing in the national semifinals. Macklin, who came to LSU from Louisville, Ky., is also the No. 2 scorer in LSU career history behind only Pete Maravich.

Speaking of his team, Jones said, "I'm really excited about this program. As a basketball coach, I couldn't have asked for a better start. Down 16 against Seton Hall, you could look in those guys' eyes and see they still had fight in them. I'm really happy with the focus, determination and growth that our players have shown on the court and in the classroom."

The team does not play this week because of final exams but resumes play on Dec. 11 against Chattanooga at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tickets for the game are $5 at the box office on game night by bringing a new toy donation for Toys for Tots.

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